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Roach eager for Cotto-Mayweather rematch

By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Freddie Roach says he’d really like for his fighter Miguel Cotto to get a rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr., and says that Cotto thinks he could beat him now with the condition that he was in last Saturday night in destroying Delvin Rodriguez in a fight that was televised by HBO from Orlando, Florida.

Roach said this via Hustleboss “Miguel told me two days ago that if he was in the shape that he is now, he would have won that fight [against Mayweather], and I believe that. I would love to have that rematch.”

It’s still too early for Roach to be talking about a rematch between Mayweather and Cotto, because Cotto has lost 2 out of his last 3 fights. He needs a solid win under him to interest in the boxing public in a 2nd Mayweather-Cotto fight.

I’m not sure that Cotto can beat any of those guys. Maybe he could beat Angulo and possibly Guerrero, but I’d definitely favor Lara, Canelo and Trout over him. But those would be the types of names that would impress fans if Cotto were able to beat him.

The important thing is that Cotto gets a big scalp so that fans think he’s for real again. We’re seeing Roach take a lot of credit for how Cotto looked against Rodriguez, but he didn’t beat a really top guy. I want to see how Roach searches for words if Cotto gets beaten by the likes of Canelo, Thurman, Trout or Lara.

Mayweather defeated Cotto by a 12 round unanimous decision a year ago in May by the scores 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111. That was the last fight in which Mayweather chose to go toe-to-toe with an opponent, because he learned that he’s better off winning by using his boxing skills to impress fans rather than trying to brawl.

A rematch between Mayweather and Cotto would be embarrassingly one-sided the next time because Mayweather would fight completely different with his father in his corner as one of his trainers. Cotto wouldn’t get many chances to land punches in a rematch, as Mayweather would fight him the same way he did in the 12th round by boxing him and making him miss.

Cotto does have good power and it would definitely be a tough fight if Mayweather chose to fight him like he did last year in May, but the fact of the matter is he’s not ever going to fight like that again. Mayweather says he doesn’t want to take a lot of damage to his head, and that’s why he won’t fight like he did in the Cotto fight.

If Top Rank is going to throw Cotto in with Sergio Martinez next, then I think they can forget all about a Mayweather rematch because that’s a step too far for Cotto. It’s a ballsy move by Cotto if he takes the fight and wins, and it would have definitely help open the door for a Mayweather rematch, but I don’t see Cotto winning that fight.